The Lion and the Wolf
by Omnicurls
Summary: "It doesn't matter what you think, we are friends. We have been for a while, whether you liked it or not." Gunther does not do 'friends' and Jane does not take 'no' for an answer. When Jane tries to force Gunther be true to himself, she ends up confronting some uncomfortable truths of her own.
1. My Fair Lady

"We should be able to make it back to the castle by nightfall if we keep a steady pace." Gunther, who was tired from days of riding across the kingdom, said sleepily. "If I have to spend another day camping outside I will kill something."

Normally Jane would have made some snide remark about him being a princess, but she too was far too worn out so she simply nodded in agreement.

"You know you have a twig in your hair." Gunther said after several minutes of nothing but the sound of horse hooves on soil.

"Shut up bird-brain." Jane snapped, "Aren't we supposed to be nice to each other? Learn to get along or something?" She asked as she shot him a dirty look, moss green eyes locking with fog grey ones.

"I was trying to help you out. A lady must look her best." Gunther teased as he steered his horse closer to hers so they were so close he could reach out and touch her. "But I guess if I had hair that served as a natural trap for all manner or rubbish it would be a sore point for me as well."

Jane reached out and shoved him. He let out a deep, hearty laugh as his horse veered left. Somewhere along their two week journey his scathing bitter laugh had evolved into a sincere one. His jokes had lost their edge and even once in a while, he said things sweet enough to make her smile. All these changes made Jane deeply uncomfortable because she _wanted_ to hate Gunther Breech; she knew no other way of feeling around him.

"Attacking a fellow knight?" Gunther teased, "Very unbecoming of a lady." Much to Jane's chagrin, made sure to stress the word 'lady'.

"Squire." Jane corrected, the tiredness seeping out of her voice to make room for the fire that sparked in her words. Good, Gunther thought as she smirked slyly, he disliked it when Jane was too tired to shoot back; it took all the fun out of things. "Know your place Gunther Breech."

"I am going to be knighted soon."

"And I am going to be knighted early." She said, reminding him that although she was younger than he was, she would be knighted with him thereby making her the youngest knight ever.

"It was my wonderful training." He huffed, pretending he didn't care. But he did. Envy dug deep into his soul and every time he thought of her going down in history as the first dragon rider, the first female knight, the youngest knight ever – well, he almost hated her again.

Jane threw back her head and laugh, unaware that his irritation was sincere. Gunther's features darkened and he moved his horse away from her. Their one-sided spat was cut short by and arrow whistling past Gunther's right ear.

"Hello dear knights." A voice called from one of the lower branches of a tree, "it seems you have yet to pay the toll to pass through here."

Two hooded men appeared from behind the tree ahead of them "Are you kidding me?" Jane said exasperatedly under her breath.

The leader leapt down from the lower branch and strode towards them with his arrow aimed squarely at the back of Gunther's head. "Pay your toll, and we shall let you pass."

"I am a knight of the king's guard. Do you really think I feel threatened?" Gunther said darkly. He really wanted to make it home before sundown, and was ready to kill anyone who would threaten that.

"Dear Sir," Jane said in the sweetest voice she could muster. She pulled down her hood and turned her horse so it was facing the leader and found she was staring at a rather handsome man with eyes just a violently green as hers. "My name is Jane Turnkey, and I am a lady-in waiting of the Princess Lavinia. This kind night was escorting me back to the kingdom after visiting my sick sister."

"A lady?" He said in disbelief as he lowered his bow. Gunther would have moved it the other three didn't have their weapons fixed on him. The man walked towards Jane and bowed deeply, "Sorry to interrupt your travels fair lady, I swear on my honour that no harm will come to you."

Honour? Gunther almost laughed out loud.

Jane leapt off her horse, using the leader's bowed back as a step. He collapsed under her weight and before he could register what was happening he was lying face first in the dirt, Jane's knee digging sharply into his spine and her dagger pressed at the nape of his neck. "Call off your men and I won't hurt you."

Obediently the men put down their weapons. Gunther got off his horse calmly and searched each man, making sure they had no hidden weapons on them. "What were you thinking attacking one of the king's knights?" Gunther asked, his voice seeping with arrogance. He looked over at Jane, who still had the leader subdued. Light for the setting sun hit her and cast a an orange-red glow around her hair that, where he a better person, Gunther would have admitted looked breath-taking and fierce. But this was skinny Jane Turnkey, so he told himself she looked unkempt. As usual.

"Well she did all the work" one of the men objected.

"She _is_ one of the king's knights." Gunther shot back so quickly and defensively that Jane herself was shocked. He turned to Jane and found that she was staring at him with wide, incredulous eyes that made her look like the twelve year old girl he used to tease relentlessly during sparring sessions. Which was funny, given that she was currently keeping subdued a man almost twice her size.

"We should tie them up and head up. We are losing too much light and I really would like to not spend one more night in the woods." Gunther said sharply, he was trying to get his mind off the uncomfortable churning in his stomach. He didn't admire her, what she did was impressive but in the end she was still that silly girl with too much hair.

"Oh, sorry I forgot that the princess needs his bed." Jane teased as she dragged the man to his feet.

"Shut up Turnkey." Gunther said as he steered the other two men towards a tree.

If Jane thought their appearance out of nowhere was an inconvenience, she was sorely mistaken. The leader would not shut up about her being a lady knight, about whether she would let him court her, he kept calling her a 'flaming beauty'.

She was walking back to her horse when he called out from the tree he was tied to, "My lady, I know these woods like the back of my hand, let me escort you." The leader said, his emerald eyes refusing to leave her, "for a price of course. A simple price of a kiss from you."

Jane spun round sharply and stormed toward him with a rage that was half irritation, half exhausting from days of travelling. "One more word from you and I swear I will knock you out." She bridled.

She was back on her horse, ready to set out again when he called out "My name is Eldridge Walker and I want to marry you." At those words Gunther burst out into laughter.

"Shut up dung-brain!" Jane yelled at Gunther, her face turning almost as red as her hair, "let's go and stop burning light." With those words she pushed her horse into a gallop. Gunther followed suit, his laughter still ringing in her ears.

"Won't you at least stay to make wedding plans 'fair lady'?" Gunther teased, enjoying the hints of red that rose to her cheeks.

It was already dark by the time they made it back to the castle. "I never want to make that journey again." Jane muttered as she tied up her horse.

"Why, you don't want another suitor falling out of a tree?" Gunther said, his lips turning up into an amused smirk.

Jane cast him a dirty look that only made him laugh. Her eyes were droopy and her head already hanging low from sleepiness, "I am too tired for this Gunther. I am going to bed."

With a grand, mocking gesture Gunther bowed deeply, "Good night fair lady."

"Bog weevil." Jane said sleepily as she walked away. What an insufferable bog weevil.


	2. It's A Friendship not A Secret

Somehow he had let those few days away seep under his skin and convince him that having someone who looked forward to seeing him, someone who sought him out, someone who made him feel _happy_ was normal. Of course, he made fun of her but days travelling alone meant that they only ever had each other. One day back home with his father was more than enough to remind him of what his life truly was. Gunther Breech was not one of those happy go lucky idiots that traipsed around the castle as though nothing mattered.

More importantly, he thought as he made his way to the courtyard for the first time in three days, they were not friends. The smith, the gardener, even the fool was her friend. He? He was her fellow squire. He would never admit it, but he always wished that they would be friends; he could never imagine himself being as close to anyone as he was to her – even then, their relationship was only born from years of being forced together. Gunther didn't let people in.

He stopped under the archway leading to the courtyard where they practiced and watched as she struck repeatedly at the dummy. Light from the sun made the edges of her unruly mass of hair look almost gold. She lunged forward with perfect form.

"Great work!" A voice called out from the opposite side of the court. It was the fool, of course.

"You don't need to constantly cheer me on." She laughed as she kept striking at the dummy. It was a genuine happy laugh, and Gunther, being used to her sarcastic half laughs almost did not recognise it as hers. Of course he wouldn't; they were not friends.

"Passable. At best." Gunther said snidely as he walked towards her. At the sound of his voice she turned and for a moment he saw something in her eyes he could not quite place. And then she smiled at him, a sardonic, mocking half-smile of course.

"Where have you been?" She asked as she placed a hand on her hip, as though waiting for an answer.

He had never been so confused in his life. Was she mocking him? Was she being playful? He quickly brushed off the uncertainty and masked his confusion with arrogance.

"I doubt that is your business." He replied coldly. She furrowed her brows before turning away from him sharply.

"Not like I minded if you didn't come back, beef brain." She said dismissively as she turned her attention back to the dummy. He watched her strike at it a few more times before he walked over to his bow and arrow.

They worked in silence for what seemed like hours, the silence only broken by the silly jingle of bells announcing the arrival of the most annoying voice ever created. "Jane!"

Jester ran up to her and grinned broadly, his eyes never leaving her. Gunther could not help but roll his eyes at the obviously love-struck fool. "Pepper wants you to come for lunch; she said your food was getting cold."

"Has it been that long already?" She asked as she put down her sword.

"Time flies in great company." Jester joked as he cast a sidelong glance at Gunther, a glance Gunther pretended to not see. He would never admit it, but he had once wanted to be part of that in-group, that group that always seemed to laugh together and look out for each other. The outside was lonely, but at least it was familiar and he preferred habit to happiness.

"Would you like to come along Gunther?" Jane asked. He had not been expecting that. He looked at her carefully. She was doing it out of pity; he had told her he didn't get along with many people in the village because he was a Breech, and now she pitied him. She probably thought 'at least he could have friends in the castle'. Suddenly he felt a wave of irritation wash over him.

He turned his steely gaze to Jester and looked him up and down with the slow contempt with which one would look at mold, and then with that perfected air of derision and confidence replied, "Perhaps not."

Jane turned round sharply, and walked away. Her gait was one he had seen far too many times; shoulders square, chin up, sharp purposeful strides. Were they back on that stupid trip where no one they knew would see him, Gunther would have ran after her and tried to make some joke in hopes of diffusing her simmering anger. Instead, he turned back to his sword and practiced with it for a few minutes before discarding it for his arrow. He needed to shoot something.

"And you say travelling with him wasn't hell?" Jester asked, even his long legs were struggling to keep up with her strides.

"He was nice. I know it is strange, but under all that brooding is a nice, fun person." She said so strongly that Jester threw up his hands in mock defense.

"I believe that you believe that, but perhaps it was the journey playing tricks on your mind? Did you drink enough water while riding?"

She stopped walking and faced Jester, staring him straight in the eyes she jabbed a finger in the middle of his chest, "I know what I am talking about, and I will prove it to you."

Jester stared at her, momentarily lost for words. Her eyes were shining and her lips turned up into the slightest of smirks. He was a head and a bit taller than her so whilst she was glaring up at him with those eyes, he was helplessly looking down at her. They were standing _so_ close.

"Well I believe in you," He said as he quickly side stepped and wove around her, hoping he did not sound half as flustered as he felt, "But I believe in food more, so we should stop wasting time."

"Are those your priorities?" Jane laughed as she followed him into the kitchen.

By the time she went back to work she was actually in a good mood. She had completely forgotten about Gunther's unwarranted rudeness until she saw him carrying a bucket into the armory. She could slowly feel her childhood resentment creeping back. It was as though he felt her eyes on him; he suddenly stopped and looked in her direction.

"Are you going to dawdle, or are you going to do your duties and help me clean the armory?" He asked with a playful smirk that made Jane question her sanity. She stood rooted to the spot as she furiously attempted to figure out what had changed.

"Dawdle, I see." He said as he walked into the armory. She broke out into a full run.

She pushed open the doors and narrowed her eyes at the dark haired man who insisted on playing night and day with how he treated her.

"Pick up a rag; these swords won't polish themselves." He was straddling the line between playful and mean, and it was driving her crazy.

She got to work, but kept eyeing him suspiciously. Gunther felt the urge to say something, to somehow fill the pained silence with a subtle jab at her so perhaps she would laugh, or take a jab at him. Either was fine.

He looked at her. Currently her eyes were fixed on the sword she was so carefully polishing. "At your pace we'd be knights before we finished this task."

She didn't laugh, or take a jab at him as he had thought. Instead she looked at him, her eyes carrying the same intensity they did when she sparred with him. At times like this they almost as dark as pine, not that he had noticed until now. "What is your problem?"

"My problem?"

"You go from being so mean to being friendly on a whim." She said accusingly.

He opened his mouth to say something, only to realise that he could not bring himself to explain that whenever other people were around, he found the inexplicable need to be mean to her, to push her away. That was stupid, and he knew it was stupid but he did so anyway.

"You don't get to treat your friends this way. You were so nice when we were travelling, what happened? I actually liked that Gunther."

He was about to speak when he suddenly found himself caught on one of her words. Friends? "We are not friends Jane." He said so bluntly that he visibly recoiled.

"Lies. See even you don't believe it." She said, her voice sounding almost triumphant. "We had been friends for a while now, regardless of whether you realise it or not. You put yourself on the line for me, and I do for you as well. The number of times we had covered for each other, even without asking, means that as terrible as it is, Gunther, we are friends."

"It's not terrible," He said, doing his best to feign nonchalance, "it's just not true." He didn't need friends, especially not her. She was strange and oddly annoying sometimes, and she had that fool so she did not need his friendship.

She looked at him with knowing eyes and for the first time in his life, Gunther felt fear. He prayed to every god he had ever heard of that she could not see through him. "I don't like your other friends." He said quickly, hoping to give her something to latch onto.

"I knew it! You don't like Jester."

"That was a secret?" Gunther asked dryly.

Jane turned her chair so her whole body was facing him. He could see a streak of polish just visible underneath that hair covering her temple. She was smiling like an idiot, the way she did whenever she bested him. "Stop being a dung beetle to me in public. We are pretty good friends, you are the only one in this whole castle who has not seem to have gotten the message. Pepper always asks why I put up with you."

"Why do you?" Gunther, who was fighting the urge to wipe that disturbing streak off her face, asked.

"Because you grew on me, and now that I know you can be fun company I am asking that you be less of a biscuit weevil when my other friends are around, and more yourself."

He had fought so hard, but in the end he lost. It kept peeking at him from behind her mass of red hair until he could not take it any longer. "Maybe one day you will grow on me." He reached out a wiped the polish off her temple, and as though nothing had happened went back to work. Jane turned away sharply, and began polishing the sword at a much faster pace. She was not sure why, but suddenly she wanted to finish and leave as soon as possible.


	3. A Gesture Between Friends

He stopped dead in his tracks and stared for far too long. Yes, she had been doing this since they were twelve, but for some reason today it hit him how fascinatingly strange she was. She was standing in the middle of the courtyard yelling at a dragon who, for some reason was on the ground laughing uncontrollably. Who else in the world could say they had yelled at a dragon to 'shut up'?

Jane ran up to Dragon and tried to stop his laughter by covering his massive mouth with her tiny hands. Gunther could not help but laugh at the futility of her actions. She turned and looked at him,

"Do you have any idea how ridiculous you look?" Gunther laughed.

"Not as ridiculous as I am going to look in two weeks." Jane said in a voice that was somehow simultaneously defeated and frustrated. Dragon lifted his head, moving his mouth far above Jane's reach.

"You should have heard her mother! I never thought you short lives could be so funny." Dragon said between laughs. Gunther tilted his head slightly and looked at Jane who had folded her arms stubbornly across her chest and turned her back to her best friend. She was looking straight at Gunther, her lips turned down into a firm frown. It was strange to see her so upset. It was not as though much had changed between them on the surface; she still called him a biscuit weevil and every time he complained she would bend into a huge, sweeping, mocking bow and call him 'Princess'. Of course he did not take her attitude lying down; she was still a frog-rider and every time she so much as slipped slightly on her footwork he would trip her and laugh when she fell. They were still the same.

Except now whenever he showed up she would smile broadly at him, and he would be damned if he had not tried to remain as composed as possible. But she had this goofy, too large grin that several times made him just stop and smile back. So seeing her so visibly upset was strange, because he had no idea how to respond. Jane smiled, or smirked. This whole frowning and pouting business was simply too confusing.

"You can't do that." The words escaped his lips before he realized he was speaking his thoughts.

"Can't do what?" Jane demanded.

"Pout. It looks wrong."

"I am not pouting. I don't pout. Knights don't pout."

"Exactly why you should stop it. You are a knight, not a child."

"Well your mother did give you a week to pout all you want." Dragon's laugh seemed to shake the air.

"I am not pouting!" Jane stomped her foot in a manner that was so ridiculously childish that Gunther burst out laughing, and once he started laughing Dragon lost it as well. He fell to the ground, pounding his fist as his massive tail swept side to side, threatening to flatten anyone who accidentally got too close. Jane looked at her best friend who could not seem to stop laughing, and at Gunther who had restarted the whole mess.

"Ok, what is going on?" Gunther asked.

"It's the stupid ball." She said, "My mother said I absolutely have to go this year."

"and?" Gunther asked, not quite following. Jane had boycotted the annual ball years ago, and as far as he knew she had never attended a single one. She was probably the only woman in the entire kingdom whose problem was _being_ invited to the castle ball.

"I have to wear a dress. Dresses look stupid. I am a knight, but they won't let me wear my armour."

"Is that really what you are whining about?" Gunther asked bluntly, "Is _that_ your big problem? A dress? Find something in royal blue; it will look beautiful on you. There, problem solved."

"That's exactly what her mother said. She gave her two weeks' notice; one week to whine about it, and a week to get ready." Dragon was too busy laughing to hear Gunther's words, and Gunther himself was not acting like anything was out of the ordinary, so Jane bit her lip to physically stop herself from asking if he meant what he had just said. Of course he didn't she would actually look beautiful; he said it to calm her down so they could get to their duties. Plus it did not matter; Jester told her she looked pretty all the time and it was just a compliment between friends.

"Forget it." Jane huffed, "both of you can stand here and laugh at me all you want, I have duties to attend to." She turned and stormed away. She wanted to sound angry, but somehow she just ended up sounding flustered instead. Once again, she wanted to just run as far away from Gunther as possible and she had no idea why.

Jane held up the bow and looked straight ahead. Taking a deep breath she let the arrow fly, and missed. Again. She cursed under her breath as she picked up another arrow. She could not _believe_ her mother. The one person who was supposed to support her was forcing her into some silly, frilly dress in front of everyone, as though people did not take fail to take her seriously enough as a knight.

She furrowed her brows and let another arrow fly. This time she almost clipped the edge of the target. She curled her top lip up into a bitter sneer and mimicked her mother's voice under her breath 'Jane you are a young woman, you should starting thinking about a husband.' She picked up another arrow and tightened her grip around it till her nails began to dig painfully into her palms. Over her dead body would she let herself be paraded around the ball like some prancing prize for some underworked noble twat. She was going to be a knight, not a wife. She locked her eyes on the target, let the arrow fly and missed.

"Are you ok?" His voice was so concerned that for a moment Jane didn't realise who had spoken. "I know you are useless with a bow and arrow but that was just ridiculous." Gunther said, quickly correcting his tone so it had that mocking sneer that assured her he was not _that_ concerned.

Jane took a deep breath to settle herself. She wanted to snap at him, call him a dung beetle, snub him. But she couldn't. Gunther Breech did not understand just _how_ to be a decent friend and Jane would be damned if she backed away from such a challenge. She was going to make a decent human being out of him, even if it killed her.

"No." She said, her voice much sharper than she had intended. She lowered her bow and turned to him, "Call this your lesson in empathy."

"My what?"

"Imagine if no one took you seriously at all because of something completely out of your control. I am a girl, and I want to be a knight. Great. I worked hard, and now my own mother is going to force me into some silly dress in front of everyone so I can preen and prance like the lady I have worked years to prove I am not. Imagine people around you working to undo everything you worked for. But you know the worst part? She is trying to pawn me off to some highborn fool who will laugh at the mere thought of me holding a sword. I am going to the ball as a Lady, not a squire. And you know what happens at these balls? Some idiot dances with me a few times and then thinks he has a claim to me, without even acknowledging that I am not only my own person, but a future knight of the realm." Her voice rose with every word. It was supposed to be his lesson in empathy, but ended up being her rant in a form she had never ever told anyone. She herself had not realised how much the whole situation upset her.

"Go to the ball with me." Gunther said. Jane immediately shut up and stared at him quizzically.

"I physically cannot bring myself to call you a Lady; you still snort when you laugh and that temper, heaven help us all. If you just talk and dance with me all evening you won't have to listen to people you don't want to interact with, and no one is going to approach you if you are always with some other man so no one will walk up to your parents afterwards making claims for you hand." Gunther shrugged.

"Is this a joke?" Jane asked,

"I am serious. It'd save you a lot of hassle. And you can whine all evening about how silly the whole thing is."

Jane didn't hear the latter part of his sentence, she was busy mulling over his words. It was a silly idea if ever she had heard one, but then again what would he mother do? Demand she speak to other people? She would go and be courteous, but she would escape the self-obsessed, boring men who deemed her ambitions as 'cute'.

"That is an awful idea. We are both going to be so miserable." Jane said. She had to keep mentally reminding herself that it was simply an offer to help a friend out. "Isn't there some girl you would rather ask instead of wasting an evening with me?"

"I have wasted most mornings and afternoons with you since I was twelve, what is one evening?" Gunther said in that nonchalant manner that made her feel silly for thinking going to the ball with him would be awkward. It was merely a thoughtful gesture between friends.

"Well, seeing as that was my lesson in empathy, how about I give you a lesson in archery? You certainly need it." He said as he reached for the bow she was holding. Jane pulled it away defensively,

"I know how to shoot Gunther." Her voice was strong and determined, more the Jane he was used to hearing. Her frustrated, defeated tone had really been taking its toll on him.

"I saw your last few shots. One day you will be covering me and I would really like to live, so you have to be at the very least, competent." He lunged forward and caught the bow before she could pull it away again. They stood, eyes locked. Gunther pulled it towards him, and for a few moments Jane resisted, her smile daring him to try harder. Gunther let go of the bow and stepped towards her, placing both hands on her shoulder, he turned her so she was facing the target. "Ok, aim." She could feel his breath on the back of her neck. He handed her an arrow. "Elbow a bit lower." He said as he moved her arm gently. "And stop looking at me, and look where you want the arrow to go."

"Jane!" at the sound of Jester's voice both Jane and Gunther reflexively stepped apart. There was nothing wrong; it was just that false news travelled quickly and neither of them felt like dealing with castle gossip, and if anyone had an overactive imagination it was Jester.

Jester looked at Jane and then at Gunther, who had already turned his back to him and was pretending to inspect an arrow. "Are you really being forced to go to the ball? Dragon told us you were going. You know you are always welcome to our small castle ball with rake and pepper and smithy. I won't be there because I am performing at the main ball but I would just hate to see you miserable." He was saying too many words too quickly, but Jane got the general message.

"It's quite alright, I am going. One of these days my mother will drag me kicking and screaming to the main ball, so I might as well get it over with now."

"Really?" Jester asked, not quite believing she had given in so easily, "In a dress and all?"

"Yes, for one night only you will get to say Lady Jane." At her words Gunther let out a snort.

"We are all dying to see 'Sir' Lady Jane." Gunther drawled, his back still turned to Jester and Jane.

"I'd be a Dame, dung brain." Jane rolled her eyes, the smile that tugged at her lips did not escape Jester but he chose to dismiss it. Of course Jane and Gunther would be somewhat friends; no one spent years together without at least learning to tolerate each other. Although Jester would be the first to admit, he had expected them to kill themselves before being civil with each other.


	4. What Happens Below Deck

"Ow." She exclaimed as a needle pierced into her side.

"Now come on Jane, you spend all day sparring; I doubt a slipped needle is more painful than those awful training swords." Her mother said as she looked through the gowns with marginal interest. She had laid aside a lovely burgundy gown that she believed would look great on Jane, and was only glancing at the other dresses to pass time while Jane was fitted for the burgundy dress.

"I don't really think this dress is for me." Jane said as she looked at the gold embroidery on the sleeves and the giant, attention grabbing broche in the middle of her chest, "isn't it a bit much? I don't want to stand out."

"Maybe if you tried to stand out more, some nice young man would have asked you to escort you to the ball." Her mother said in that judging, slightly exasperated tone that Jane had learned to accept was simply how her mother chose to speak to her. Not that she could blame her; she was a lady in waiting whose only daughter chose to be a squire instead of some nice courtier.

"Someone did ask me." Jane said stubbornly,

"Of course they did honey." Adeline continued to pull out dresses after dress. She examined each one briefly before putting it away. "You insist on spending all your time sparring, in the kitchens, or in the stables. I thought you would grow out of it." Her mother turned to look at her, and with a great show of resignation added, "At least you decided to go to the ball this year, I guess we must all be thankful for the little mercies."

Jane was in the middle of rolling her eyes when her mother pulled out another dress. "Wait," she stepped forward to stop her mother from putting it back, but the movement caused the seamstress to accidentally prick her with the needle again.

"That's it. I am not wearing this dress. I cannot and I will not." She said as she gathered up the layers and layers of excess fabric that pooled around her feet. "I look like I was swallowed by a spool of cloth."

"But it's beautiful."

"But I want the dress you just put back." She walked to where her mother was standing and pulled out the dress. It was much less full than the one she was currently wearing.

"It's so simple." Adeline protested. She fingered the silver embroider on the dagged sleeves gingerly, "I mean it is pretty but it is really what you want? I like the one you are wearing so much better."

"I can't breathe in it, there is too much fabric for me to be able to walk in it without tripping over. I do not want to spend the whole evening in a spool of fabric that I am fairly certain is trying to suffocate me."

Adeline threw up her hands in frustration, "Do what you want Jane Turnkey. Some women get a daughter, I get a headache."

Jane grinned broadly as she practically raced out of the burgundy gown. After her mother gave up on her, things went much faster and before Jane knew it, she was free. "I have a few more errands to run, but you can go ahead back to the castle." Adeline said and kissed Jane lightly on the cheek, "You are so stubborn, that sometime I have to wonder where you came from."

Jane smiled at her mother, "I get it from you. Why do you think we quarrel so much?"

Jane had every intention of returning to the castle, but she ran into pepper whom she decided to escort to the market. Although now, she was seriously regretting her decision because all Pepper could talk about was the ball.

"It's going to be so much work for me, cooking for days and days. I wish I could go instead of having to tend to the kitchens. You are so lucky you get to go, I know you don't want to, but think of how pretty everything will be and how much fun you could have." Pepper said, the longing in her voice made Jane slightly uncomfortable. It never felt right to her that her closest friends could never go to the balls and parties and court gatherings her family was constantly invited to. Every year after she had boycotted the ball when she was twelve, they had all thrown their own 'ball' in the back of the gardens and it was fun and easy and care free. Now, she had to be a proper nob le lady and leave the cooks in the kitchens, the smiths in the stables, the gardeners in the gardens. At least Jester would be at the ball, even if he would just be singing she would still at least have one friend there.

"Oh no." Jane groaned. She had not realised that Jester would be at the ball. Gunther and Jester despised each other for no reason what so ever, and she was not in the mood to toe the line between them in the days following the ball.

"What is the matter?" Pepper asked,

"Oh nothing," Jane lied, "I just realised Gunther would be at the ball as well."

"Is that a problem? I thought you two were now pretty good friends. That is what Jester told me." Pepper said, paying more attention to Jane than to the pears she was picking out.

"No, we are friends. He just had a tendency to get arrogant, and I cannot imagine what he would be like with all the lords and ladies around. He'd probably strut around like some prince, trying to impress them." Jane said. She could not tell Pepper Gunther was escorting her to the ball, and neither could she seem too excited that he would be there. If anyone had a penchant for gossip it was Pepper, and Jane was in no mood to relieve that fiasco from years ago when Pepper somehow believe that she and Gunther were courting.

"Well you are a lady and he never does that around you." Pepper said with a laugh,

"Not really. My mother is a lady; I am just his fellow squire." Jane was about to say something else when she heard Gunther's name mentioned by the women in the next stall.

"What kind of self-respecting woman would ever look twice at a Breech?" the older lady said,

"But he is so handsome, looking never hurt."

Jane's eyes followed the younger woman's eyes and she quickly spotted Gunther across the market, he was talking to a merchant and even from this distance she could see that his interactions in the market place was not like other people's. Were people bartered, and made jokes, and even laughed with their clients on occasion, Gunther was all business. Cold, clinical, and stern.

"And he will be a knight soon, which is worth something. I was certain he was going to ask me to the castle ball." The younger added, her eyes still fixed on the dark haired squire.

"Traitor blood. No knighthood could ever get rid of that. In families like that, the evil runs deeps. And you know of Magnus; he would sell his own mother for a profit. The apple never falls far from the tree." The older woman smacked the younger one on the head, "You are not to even look at that boy again, have some self-respect. I don't know what the king is thinking letting his kind behind the castle walls."

Jane looked at Pepper, her eyes wide with disbelief. "But Gunther never did anything." She whispered.

"But his grandfather did. Your family shame follows you, just like your family honour does. You are a lady because of your father; Gunther is a traitor because of his." Pepper explained.

"So, everyone just…"

"No, not to his face," Pepper said quickly, "His family is far too wealthy. But he knows, everyone knows the Breech family is merely tolerated."

Jane looked at the spot where Gunther was before, but he was gone. She scanned the market quickly and found him again. He was carrying a bag of apples and walking with that cocky, self-assured gait that always managed to irritate her; he always walked as though he were the king of the world and nothing could ever touch him.

"I will see you back at the castle?" She said to Pepper, and without waiting for a response hurried across the market, weaving between crowds, carts and stalls. She was already half-way to him when she realised what she was doing, but at that point it was a sunk cost anyway so she just continued making her way towards Gunther like some dumb moth flying towards a candle, thinking it's the sun.

He felt a light tap on his shoulder and turned to look at the person who had tapped him. "Sir Breech." She said, her lips spread into a wide, mocking grin. The moment he realised who it was, his eyes softened.

"Jane?" He said in disbelief, "What are you doing here? It's our day off."

"I had to find a dress." She rolled her eyes as she began to walk alongside him, not quite caring where he was headed, "Absolutely dreadful." She reached into his bag of apple and took one, "You?"

"I live in the village." He said, the dryness in his tone called out the stupidity of her question so well that he didn't have to.

"I mean in the market, don't you have servants for that in your giant mansion?" She teased,

"To pick up a bag of apples? That's a bit decadent, isn't it _?"_ He smiled at her. She veered sideways so she bumped into him and nearly threw him off balance,

"I was in the market with Pepper, and I saw you so I thought I might as well make good use of my time and annoy you as much as I can." She said playfully. She knew there were eyes on her, but she forced herself not to care. There was this strange part of her that hated seeing Gunther walking alone, so closed off and guarded. After years together, she had finally figured out that his swagger and cockiness were merely a defense, so to see them turned up so high bothered her deeply.

"That is exactly how you get your friends to not hate me; abandon them for me."

"They won't hate you for that, maybe dragon will but that doesn't matter."

"Oh, so the one who could burn me alive in one breath is not the concern? That is good to know."

"No, not at all." Jane laughed.

Gunther looked at her and smiled. He had almost forgotten that he was in the village market. She had this strange way of making him feel so at ease, even when they were bone tired from days of riding across the kingdom, she had managed to keep him chipper, and Gunther Breech was never _chipper_.

"So where are you off to? I have a day to burn."

"Well some of us spend our days off working at the docks. One of my father's ships just came in and I have to oversee the unloading and take records. All that boring bureaucratic stuff. You can join me if you would like, but if you die of boredom do not say I did not warn you."

But it was not boring at all for Jane; she had never even heard of half the things Gunther was sorting through. "What _is_ this?" Jane asked as she picked up a lavender box tied with a silk ribbon.

"Oh those are Macaroons from France, the Queen always orders them."

"All these things are so interesting. Honestly I expected more mundane things like grain and fabric." She said as she continued to sort the goods into those going to the castle, and those meant for wealthier villagers.

"We export grain Jane, why would it be on an incoming ship?" Gunther asked as he cross checked her sorting with the writings in the leger. The work was much easier with another pair of hands to help him, but Magnus never trusted anyone with the luxury goods and would probably have killed Gunther if he knew Jane had been allowed below deck to help him.

She stuck out her tongue at him and continued to sort with the slow but determined pace of someone who wanted to see, touch and know what everything was. It was all so interesting and foreign. "What are these?" She held out a rose coloured box with a red velvet lid.

"Those are mine," Gunther walked towards her and took the box out of her hands, "I slipped them onto the list right before the ship set sail, and my father did not notice. Have you ever heard of Turkish delights?"

Jane shook her head slowly. Gunther opened took the lid off the rose box and carefully pushed aside the layers of fine, transparent paper, revealing several sugar dusted squares. "Try one." Gunther s held out the sweets for her.

"Are they poisoned?" Jane teased,

Gunther took a small pink square out of the box and handed it to her, "Of course; I have been trying to rid myself of you all day."

The moment she placed the sweet in her mouth her eyes fluttered shut and the strangest, most unsettling sound escaped her lips. It was so low it was barely there. But Gunther heard it and that was enough to shrink the space between them into nothing but a breath, to make him realise the soft orange glow the candles cast against her skin and hair – it was like the sun was standing in front of him, eyes closed, waiting. Gunther found himself wondering what it would be like to touch her, perhaps kiss her. He tried to push the thoughts out of his mind but they kept fighting their way back in.

"It's absolutely sinful." She said in that unsettling tone. Gunther shut the box hastily and, for the sake of his sanity, took a giant step backwards. He bumped into a crate and almost stumbled over.

"Are you ok?" Jane stepped forward, her arms reaching out to stabilise him. But he brushed her off quickly.

"I am fine." Gunther turned away from her sharply and began to catalogue the first thing he saw, "I have to be done with this today, so we need to focus."

"Yes sir." Jane teased, but Gunther failed to respond. He just stayed focused on his task, his back squarely facing her. Jane furrowed her brows slightly, and then turned to find some way she could help. She had long given up trying to understand Gunther's mood swings.

It was well past midnight when she returned to the castle. She was attempting to make it quietly across the yard and up the stairs when a voice called out her name. She turned quickly and stared in the direction of the kitchen window, "Quiet Pepper,"

Pepper raced out of the kitchen and across the yard, the dark circles under her eyes where merely signs of the sleepless nights the ball preparations would bring her. "Your mother was looking everywhere for you. I told her you offered to run and errand for me in a market two towns over. Where have you been?"

Jane looked down at the small lines she was drawing with her feet. It was ridiculous; she was acting as though she had something to hide when she had done nothing wrong – except staying out all night, of course. But she did that on squire duties, so why was this any different? "I was at the docks helping out and then it got late."

"At the docks? Why? Last time I saw you, you went to speak with Gunther." Pepper consciously refused to put two and two together; she needed to hear it from Jane herself."

"Yes, well then he had to help with some of his father's shipments, so I offered."

"You were out with Gunther till past midnight?" Pepper asked, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Jane squared her shoulders defensively and looked straight at Pepper, "Well if you needed help I would have been out this late for you too, or Jester, or Rake, or Smithy. Gunther is my friend as well and I wanted to help out." Pepper did not look quite convinced but Jane was not quite sure she cared; the only thing on her mind was getting some sleep, "anyway, it doesn't matter where I was; how is today different from any of my night patrols? If anything people should be used to me coming back at odd hours. I have to go to sleep now; I am so tired." Jane said before walking away.

Pepper watched as Jane walked as quietly as humanly possible across the yard and up the tower stairs. She wiped her hands on her apron and quietly returned to the kitchens. No, she was not going to say a word, not this time; she had far too much preparation and cooking to do.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the longer than usual wait, but you get a longer chapter because (and I should have realised) longer chapters take longer to write.**


	5. A Fool's Ballad

Jester slumped against the tree and hung his head, "Give me one good reason, Jane, why I should not just throw this instrument away and become a gardener or something?" He asked,

"Because you would make an awful gardener; worms scare you, remember?" Jane said lazily, she was too busy enjoying the rare moment of relaxation and the bright summer sun.

"But I have been practicing for days. I can't do it anymore."

"Take a break Jester, lie down." Jane said as she patted the warm earth next to her,

"I can't. The ball is tonight."

"And you have been slaving away at your music for days. You will be fine Jester."

She was looking up at him with those large green eyes made brilliant by the sun and he could not help but do as she said. He took off his hat and ran his hand through this sandy hair.

Jane rolled onto her stomach and propped her head up in her palms; she kept her eyes fixed on her childhood friend. He had grown tall, and then just kept growing till he was all legs and arms in this charming manner that made his cartwheels and silliness endearing. "You are a fine musician; You don't have to kill yourself."

"At least one of us has faith in me." He replied, just being around her was already lifting his spirits and he soon found himself forgetting his earlier frustration. He could not help but smile around her, just like he could not help but stare and wonder what it would be like to kiss her. Every single days since they were children, he had wondered what it would be like to have her view him as more than just 'Jester', the one with the riddles and jokes who made her laugh when she needed to most.

"You have always had faith in me, for years, it is about time we switch roles, don't you think?" She smiled at him and he felt something twist in his chest. Anyone else might have been concerned, but after years of enduring the effect she had on him, Jester had just accepted that this was how his chest, his body, his entire being, would react whenever he spoke to her.

"And you are going to be my only friend at the ball, so I need you happy as well." She added,

"Well, Gunther and I." He said. The very name 'Gunther' was bitter in his mouth. Even he did not know why he hated the other squire so much, yes Gunther was arrogant and mean, but there was something in seeing Jane complain about him for years on end that made Jester irrationally dislike Gunther.

Jane made a face and Jester could not help but laugh, "I thought you two were such good friends now."

Jane broke into a grin and laughed as well, "We are, I do like Gunther. I just enjoy making fun of him as well." She managed to settle her laughter and lifted her eyes to meet Jester again and his chest clenched, "Yes, you and Gunther would be my only friends there, so now I really need you. If I ended up fighting him in the middle of the ball for everyone to see, my mother will never forgive me. I promised to be a perfect lady."

"You are always a perfect lady." Jester said, his eyes still fixed on hers. He felt, and fought, the urge to reach out and touch her hand, no matter how lightly.

"You just say these things because we are friends and you have to." She looked up at the sky. Suddenly she leapt to her feet, breaking the bubble he Jester had mentally created for them, the bubble in which, for Jester, nothing matter but her. The bubble in which he almost felt able to tell her just how much she meant to him. But that was probably for the best; even a fool could tell that confessing to her how he felt would be sheer madness. Yes, he loved Jane Turnkey, but she was also his best friend and if anything happened to that friendship he was not sure how he would survive.

"I think Dragon is finally coming back. We are supposed to fly around for a bit, seeing as I actually have some time to myself." She said as she monitored the sky, her face turned upward, one hand on her hip, the other shielding her eyes from the brightness of the sun. Jester could not help but stare, she was so different from everyone else; insisting on being a knight, befriending a dragon. He knew even if he travelled to the ends of the world he would never come across anyone quite like her.

"Jane" He said as he scrambled to his feet. He was going to tell her, so what if it was madness? so what if it had taken him years to say? They had been friends for years and Jane was not the kind to let a friendship die because of unrequited love. She turned and looked at him and just as his confidence appeared it withered away. It was impossible. There was no way under the sun she would ever see 'just Jester' the way he saw her.

"I am going to practice a bit more – calmly this time. Don't get too caught up flying with dragon and forget to attend the ball." The words felt like a betrayal to himself. They were nowhere near what he truly wanted to say to her. He silently found himself wondering just how many times he had failed to tell her how he felt. It had to be hundreds but now, if now thousands. She could ride a dragon and he could not even tell her how he felt.

"I can't promise I won't 'forget'" She replied with that bright smile that made his breath catch in his throat, "but I will try."

The first thing Jester saw when he walked up to the front of the great hall was her. She was staring intently at the front, waiting for him to appear so she could smile and wave so enthusiastically he began to feel himself turn slightly red. He had never imagined she could look more beautiful than she did everyday but here she was, proving him wrong in the stunningly royal blue dress that brought out the vibrant red of her hair that, even on a day such as this, refused to behave. Her mother had spent hours pulling, stretching and teasing it into something 'presentable', all for nothing because there were still strands struggling to be free. She winked at him and for a moment he feared he would drop his instrument or forget a note. His eyes were so fixed on her that he almost stumbled over his own feet. And like a shadow over all the confidence her ardent attention had given him, Gunther appeared at her side. He had that derisive sneer plastered across his face. Jester could not help but think that his was exactly the kind of face that needed a punch, or two. Gunther said something to Jane and immediately her eyes moved from himself to Gunther and she said something as well. Her eyes filled with that fire only Gunther seemed to be able to draw out at whim. Were it Jester, he would have taken back whatever he said but Gunther just laughed. And that was all he could think about as he played; how for every second she spent listening to his music, she spent five talking to Gunther. Arguing, hopefully.

"His music isn't awful. I am surprised, given how annoying he sounds every single day." Gunther smirked. He was looking at Jane from the corner of his eye, waiting for her reaction. And there it was, just like clock-work.

Jane turned her head sharply and glared at him. "Jester is a great musician. Why else would the king have him perform? You are just a jealous biscuit weevil." She could see the smile tugging at the corner of his lips, "And you are doing this on purpose. You just want to annoy me."

"I am just trying to make you feel like you are not at some fancy ball, and what is more normal than me teasing you?" He tugged lightly at a lock of red hair that had managed to escape the all the pulling, tying and pinning that had been employed to keep her hair looking decent, "Your hair certainly seems to have forgotten that this is a formal occasion."

Jane swatted his hand away, "stop talking and listen to the music." She was hoping that the sudden warmth on her cheeks was all in her head, and that she was not blushing. She turned and kept her eyes fixed on Jester, and that calmed her racing heart. She smiled at him, and he smiled back slightly as he continued to play.

It was not fair. Gunther was a dung beetle, a very annoying one at that. But somehow he got to be – and she was saying this objectively – the best looking person in the room. Somehow that arrogance came off as a confident charm when he donned his finery and walked with that self-assured, untouchable gait. And he kept leaning in to whisper things into her ear, to tease her, to draw a reaction from her. It was highly uncomfortable. She had always known he was rather handsome, but she had never found him attractive until he had decided to walk up to her earlier that night and make a great pantomime of chivalry. He had bowed deeply, called her 'fair lady' and, barely able to hold back his own laughter, said he hoped she would find him a suitable escort for the ball. And then he had given her that subtly mocking smile, his fog grey eyes quietly teasing her. From that moment she knew that now, when the silly ladies in waiting and courtiers gossiped about him, it would be hypocrisy to roll her eyes at them as though they were silly little girls. It was official; Jane Turnkey hated Gunther Breech again, except this time in a way that made her blush when he leaned in too close, made her pulse quicken when their eyes met, and made her heart rise to her throat every time he so much as mentioned her name. What an absolute dung beetle.

"Jane." Gunther said in a serious tone that instantly snapped her out of her thoughts. "The man on the side of the ensemble, wasn't he the one we left tied to a tree all those weeks back?"

She looked in the direction he was pointing and let out a frustrated sigh, "He's a thief, in the castle. We have to get him out."

Jester tried to keep his eyes fixed on blank space on the wall. He was not sure why, but Jane and Gunther, together, bothered him deeply. There was something missing in the way they interacted. It appeared almost too friendly. Of course they had never been best friends, and at a point they might as well have been nemeses. But, even without being able to hear what they were saying, they were far too relaxed and familiar around each other. It wasn't Gunther so much that bothered him; the mere thought of Jane and Gunther, of all people, was laughable. The two had just gotten over hating each other, and she still often found him too arrogant to bear. Seeing Jane with Gunther made him realise how easy it could be for some random man to decide he wanted to court Jane. If she were being so happy and familiar with some random man, Jester had no idea what he would do. And for the first time in his life, Jester was glad to have Gunther around, because he had just bought Jester enough time to finally tell Jane just how much he cared.

All he could think about as he left the hall, and another group of musicians walked up to the front to replace him, was how he would finally tell her. It would take a lot of courage, more than he had ever believed he possessed. He was surprised to find Jane waiting at the back even before he got there. "You came to see me?" He asked without even bothering to hide his surprised.

"Not quite," she said almost dismissively, she was looking at the line of musicians entering. "One of the people you played with is a thief, and Gunther and I need to escort him out and make sure he took nothing from the castle. I came ahead, and Gunther followed him, just in case he tried to run."

"Oh." Jester said, suddenly understanding why she looked so preoccupied.

"He should have been right behind you, I have no idea what is keeping Gunther so long." Jane said, her eyes fixed in the direction from which the musicians had come.

Gunther walked quickly till he caught up with the familiar looking blonde man. He quickly began making small talk and putting on that charming persona he had perfected over the years. He waited, careful to keep the musician talking, until they had fallen sufficiently behind the rest of the group. He grabbed the man by the shirt and slammed him against a wall. "Are you stupid or something? Why would you come to the castle when two of the king's knights already know that you are a thief?"

The man tried to move but Gunther kept him pinned to the wall, "I was hoping you would have forgotten about me. I swear I didn't take anything. You can search me. I am not a very good thief, you know that. I am just trying to make an honest living now. You saw me in the forest, I couldn't steal from a child, I-"

"Quiet already." Gunther snapped, "You talk too much. I am going to let go of you, if you try to run… Well, that will be very unfortunate." His voice was like something waiting behind the trees, visible only by the slight twitch of its ears, waiting for something weak to stumble by. The man nodded sharply, as though the king himself had given him an order, and Gunther let go of him.

"Your name," it wasn't a question.

"William, sir."

"I assume you now live in the village nearby."

He felt almost hunted. He looked around desperately but the corridor was deathly silent. He looked up at Gunther whose grey eyes appeared a dusty gold under the torch flames. He could do nothing but nod mechanically.

"And you know who I am. In case you don't, I am Magnus Breech's son. I can very easily use my father's connections to find out where you live, where your family lives. I can find out anything about you. So if you lie to me-"

"I swear I didn't take a single thing. I am telling you the truth. Do you want to search me?"

"I'll get to that. First, is there anyone else I should keep an eye out for? An accomplice?"

The man shook his head violently, blonde locking sweeping across his shining eyes.

"I'm not going to hurt you, stop looking like you are going to cry. Unless you are lying to me, then I suggest you start crying right now for what will happen to you."

William fell to his knees clasped his hands together in front of him, pleading, "I swear everything I have told you is true. I live three houses down from the market, it's a small home with a broken fence. I promise I just want to make an honest living."

"Get up. Have some self-respect." Gunther said, his voice thick with disgust. "Empty your pockets.

He rose to his feet, and with trembling hands, obediently turned out his pockets.

Once Gunther was satisfied that William had taken nothing, he placed a hand on Williams shoulder the pushed him forward, "time to leave the castle." he said as he led him out of the corridor.

"Finally, what took you so long?" Jane asked as she saw Gunther walking with a very familiar looking blonde man. The man looked paler than death. "What did you do to him?" Jane demanded, "You were supposed to follow him, not scare him half to death."

"I didn't do anything, I just talked to him. Do you think that lowly of me?" Gunther said as he placed one hand on Williams's shoulder, "Here's your darling suitor. He didn't take anything." He looked at William who was still reeling from the encounter, "What? don't you feel like still professing your love?"

"Shut-up Gunther. Let's just escort him out of the castle."

Jester watched quietly as Jane and Gunther walked off with the thief. He didn't like Gunther at all, and seeing the man so pale, and obviously frightened, whilst Gunther walked behind him with that 'king of the world' air as though nothing was wrong was enough to make Jester certain that he would never ever feel any sort of comradery with Gunther. Gunther was ice; cold and compassionless. Jane was braver than she knew trying to get close to someone like him.


	6. Things That Do Not Match

"How do people walk around in this? This corset is quite literally crushing my lungs." Jane complained as she climbed the stairs. She had insisted on going with Gunther as he made sure William went straight back to the village and did not linger around the castle. And then she had insisted on checking the castle perimeter with him. Now she was truly regretting her decision because each breath was proving harder to draw than the previous one.

"If I carry you the rest of the way will you stop whining?" Gunther asked, half joking.

"I'd like to see you wear a corset and try not to 'whine'." Jane snapped. Gunther stretched out his arms, as though trying to pick her up and she stepped away sharply, "if you touch me Gunther, I swear you will regret it."

He threw his head back and laughed as she huffed and puffed her way up the stairs. "I told you not to come. You don't wear corsets Jane; you never learned how to not breathe."

Jane simply brushed a stray lock of hair away from her eyes and ignored him. Thankfully, she could feel whatever infatuation she had felt in the hall fading away. It must have been the music and the preponderance of couples that sent her mind wandering in strange directions she was very content to live without.

Jane almost made it to the castle courtyard before she decided to take a break. She leaned against the stone archway and listened to the soft notes floating from the hall. "Need to catch your breath?" Gunther said in a tone that was bordering on mocking. He had not changed at all; arrogant, annoying, and still as childish as ever. Yet somehow she could not stop looking at him.

"I just realized that I could go up to my room instead of returning to the ball. I mean, I was there for a little while, that should be enough?"

"Are you having that terrible of a time? You didn't even get to have one dance." Gunther's eyes strayed towards the courtyard where they had fought so many times. The times when he had let his jealousy get the better of him, although to be fair which squire wouldn't be jealous of a dragon-rider? And then there was that special runic sword of hers.

"All the more reason for me to not go back. I don't dance. I would look like a fool if I tried." Jane stood up straight and made a pantomime of a curtsey, "Thank you for such a 'lovely' evening 'sir' Breech. But I must go now." As she turned to walk away he reached out and grabbed her hand,

"What kind of escort would I be if you don't have at least one dance?"

"I am really bad at it."

"There is no one here to see you." Gunther motioned towards the empty courtyard. Jane was painfully aware of how his hand still lingered in his, but she just could not pull away. Not like she wanted to anyway. "And I have already seen you make of a fool of yourself many, many times. I really am the last person whose opinion should concern you."

Jane tilted her head slightly, "Did you really just say that?"

Gunther wrapped his fingers around her hand lightly and lifted their hands, "No." He smiled ever so subtly. She felt her heart leap into her throat. He began to move, dancing, taking her along with him as the music front the ball wafted softly through the air. It was strange to be dancing alone in the courtyard with Gunther, or dancing with him at all. It was even stranger to be staring so intently into his eyes, but she could not for the life of her look anywhere else. And neither could he.

Jane forced herself to look past his shoulder, and in so doing she lost her rhythm. She tripped on her own feet and stumbled forward but before she could fall, he caught her. She was certain that even under the dim lighting, he could see her turn vermilion. "For someone so agile when sparring, you have two surprisingly dysfunctional left feet." He said as he helped her regain her balance.

"I just got a bit distracted." She said, trying hard not to focus on the fact that they were dancing again and her heart was beating so quickly she was sure it was going to explode. She reluctantly kept her eyes fixed on his because, as she had just experienced, it was safer that way. "The sky is exceptionally beautiful today."

Gunther looked up briefly and then lowered his gaze to meet hers, "Yes, of course, the sky."

If there was a brighter shade of red than vermilion, Jane had just found it.

It was almost like déjà vu. Jester knew he had been in this very same situation before, many years ago, except this time there would be no big reveal that this was all a misunderstanding. There was no dragon breathing over Gunther to be polite, or Pepper telling Jane she had to consider Gunther's 'feelings'. He had thought of leaving her a note because he knew if he tried to tell her in person how he felt, he would simply fail again. He mechanically stuffed the two page long note into his pocket, as though if he shoved it deep enough, it would cease to exist along with all those feelings he had poured out on paper.

They were so fixed on each other that they had not noticed him. Quietly, Jester snuck away, leaving the pair alone. He pulled off his hat and bit down so had his jaw began to ache. Of course it would be Gunther, why had he not seen it before? At the ball, every time they 'fought' it had never really been fighting, even when they were younger it had always been there. For a second, he had actually believed there was a chance for him. But this made much more sense; she was a lady, and set to become a knight. He was a jester and no matter how many books he taught himself to read, his future would only be telling jokes and dancing for the royal court. Gunther made much more sense. He shoved his hand into his pocket and wrapped his hand tightly around the letter. He wanted so much to pull it out and rip it into tiny pieces so it was as though he had never actually gathered the courage to put his feelings to paper. But even that he was too weak to do.

What was supposed to be just one dance turned into a night of exploring the castle grounds and reliving the best and worst squire duties from their childhood. Everyone was so preoccupied with the ball that there was barely time to notice the two squires running around and laughing like children. "Of course I can fight in a dress, and I could best you as well. Let's get the training swords and let me prove it."

Gunther, making a great show of mock fear, waved his hands frantically in front of his face, "No, please. Do not make me have to watch you try and fight in a dress you can barely breathe in."

Jane rolled her eyes at him, "You are just afraid to lose to me. Again."

"No, it is just getting rather late and if you don't want people to start thinking we are courting, again, I should walk you back now."

"You want to walk me back to my room so people would not think we are courting?" Jane asked. She was still letting him walk her back; the night had proven much more fun than she had expected and she was not quite ready to let it end.

"Actually I am just trying to rid myself of you. People are idiots and will believe what they want; if we fight, we are courting. If we don't, we are still courting."

"You believed that I liked you. I didn't even like you as a person." Jane teased.

"I also had that overgrown frog of yours threatening to roast me if I hurt you. That proved plenty of motivation to just assume that you did." Gunther stopped at the stairs leading up to the tower. "But I was also assuming that you had just come to your sense."

"Come to my senses?"

"Yes, you finally did. Now you like me as a person, even if a few years later. I might had given you a bit too much credit, as a child."

"You think it was inevitable that I would like you as a person? You are such an arrogant dung beetle."

"Everyone loves Gunther Breech." He smirked. But a thousand self-assured smirks could not hide the acidity right beneath the surface and suddenly Jane saw the self-depreciating joke he had been trying to make. A few weeks ago she might have missed it and mistaken his words for pure arrogance, but now she knew him too well.

"Well I am glad I finally came to my senses; today was surprisingly fun. Thank you." Jane, out of habit, bowed slightly and Gunther laughed. It was so strange to see a lady in a dress bowing.

"Anything for a fellow squire." He said before leaving.

She stood at the foot of the stairs for a few minutes and watched him walk away with that swagger that was so 'Gunther' that she could not help but smile. Once he was far enough away she gather the fabric of her dress and began to race as quickly up the stairs as her corset would allow. Of course her mother had to make sure it was tied as tightly as humanly possible. Once she reached her room she threw herself onto the bed and covered her face with her hands. It was impossible, Gunther? Of all the people in the castle, she had to fall for Gunther. "You are such an idiot Jane Turnkey. This cannot end well for you, and you know it." She said to herself. But even as she spoke those words she could not help but grin from ear to ear like the idiot she was currently calling herself.

Jane expected to wake up the next day and spend the say helping clean up around the castle, whilst trying to force herself to her sense over Gunther. But now, standing in front of the king, her heart beating much faster than she had ever believed it could, yesterday's expectations seemed like a heavenly dream that she would trade anything for.

"Are the events as Jester recounted them?" The king asked, his eyes fixed on Jane who could barely believe what was happening.

"Yes, I went ahead and Gunther was alone with the thief, but he had nothing to do with this. Yes, we should have been more vigilant but I swear we will do anything and everything to get the Prince's crown back. Have you spoken to Gunther yet?" Jane said, her fear making her voice louder than she had intended. She knew what the king had been insinuating; Gunther had something to do with the disappearing crown, but she could not bring herself to believe it.

"This is a matter for Sir Ivon and me," Sir Theodore said in that caring, paternal manner that right now sounded extremely condescending, "As for Gunther, he should be done speaking with Sir Ivon, after which he would be led out of the castle. He will be allowed to resume his squire duties and come into the castle once the whole issue is resolved."

"You can't do that." Jane quickly regained her composure and corrected her tone, "I have known Gunther for years and while he can be arrogant and secretive, he is no thief. You all know that as well otherwise you would never have let him been a squire for so long."

"Jane," King Caradoc said softly, "I know Gunther is innocent. It is his father he was not quite sure of. Perhaps if he sees his actions are endangering his son's future he will come clean."

Jane frowned, she did not remember seeing Magnus at the ball, but then again she had not been paying much attention as to who was in attendance and who was not. "So you are going to punish Gunther for something we all know he didn't do?"

"It's not a punishment, it's a bluff. Gunther will be allowed to continue his training."

"It is not fair to use his future as a bluff in something that is between the Kingdom and his father, not him." Jane said.

King Caradoc sighed. "You do not understand the nature of these things." He said. Jane listened politely as he explained why he had to do what he was doing, but she was never convinced. It was unfair, and as a person of honour she could not accept 'the nature of these things'. Once the king dismissed her, Jane headed straight for the castle gates and down to the village. She was so purpose driven that she did not notice any of her surroundings. All she knew was that she was headed to the Breech manor.

"May I help you?" the guard on duty asked when Jane reached the manor. She had never actually been to Gunther's home, and it surprised her how large it was.

"I am here to see Gunther."

"Sorry, he is not accepting visitors."

"Tell him it is Jane Turnkey." She said firmly.

"He said to allow no one in." The guard repeated in a monotonous voice that was slowly beginning to grate on her senses.

"I asked you to tell him it was Lady Jane Turnkey, from the King's Castle, I did not ask you to repeat orders." She snapped. Later, she would feel bad for being so rude, but she upset and worried, and the guard was standing in her way.

He frowned slightly and went inside. He came out a few minutes later and shrugged, "He said you should not waste your time, and should go back to the castle."

Jane folded her arms across her chest and leaned forward, her eyes fixed on the guard, "Fine. But tell Gunther that I will be back."


	7. All In Good Haste

He was not sure what came first, the scream or his name being yelled loud enough for the whole village to hear. He practically leapt off his bed, where he had been perpetually sulking since he returned, to the window. He threw open the shutters, hoping he was merely imagining things. But he was not so lucky. Surely enough Gunther found himself staring at a large expanse of green scales. "Are you crazy?" He yelled before realizing that Jane may not be able to hear him from dragon's back. But she did and so did dragon, who turned around laughing,

"Oh there you are." Dragon's laugh seemed to shake the building, a fact he had gotten used to in the castle. But this was not the castle.

He slammed the window shut and raced downstairs. Of course Jane would come riding on the back of her dragon, what had he expected when he refused to see her. This was Jane, the girl to whom rules were as good as fictional. If she could be a squire, then she could ride her dragon into the middle of the town. By the time Gunther reached the front door, she was already at the door waiting for him, a self-satisfied smile spread across her face.

"What do you think you are doing?" He asked, he did not even try to hide his irritation. "Do you know what sir Ivon and Sir Theodore will do to you when they find out you rode dragon into the middle of the village?"

"That is a problem for another time. Right now, we are going to find the prince's crown." Jane said, her voice firm and confident as though he was obliged to just do as she said. Even in her voice you could hear that she was not very familiar with the concept of 'No'. What Jane wanted, Jane took.

"This is not your problem."

"Gunther, you are my partner and if you are in trouble then I have to be there."

"I don't need help, Jane, and even if I did it would not be your responsibility" He said sternly.

"Can you not be so stubborn for five minutes?" She replied in a tone that made it clear that this was not up for discussion; in her mind they were as well as on their way. Gunther had heard that tone many, many times and each time she used it, she fought till she got exactly what she wanted. However he was not ready to back down and let her be suspended from her squire duties as well.

"Me, stubborn? Right, because I am the one who rode a dragon into a place I would not be let into." Gunther shot back without missing a beat. For someone so intelligent, she could be exceptionally bad at seeing reason.

"You are my friend, and my partner and I blame myself for putting you in this situation. It was my idea to go ahead, and now everyone blames you because you were alone with the thief. How can you tell me it's not my problem when I created this situation?" He was not sure exactly what it was. It might have been the sincere, and seriously misplaced, guilt in her voice, or that over the years he had slowly forgotten how to say 'no' to her, or he may have been simply too tired to fight her. But something made him give in.

Neither sir Theodore, the King, nor Sir Ivon believed he actually had anything to do with the disappearance of Cuthbert's crown. But they believed his father did, and as much as he wanted to Gunther could not bring himself to explain why that was not possible. The Breech name lived on how much people feared the merchant's power. The kingdom reluctantly needed him, and there were many properties people would call for the king to seize at the slightest sign of weakness so Magnus had to maintain his show of force and influence. But right now that was all it was, a show. And Gunther now had to keep up the illusion, how long for, he was not sure.

"Before you even ask, I know my father had nothing to do with it." Gunther said, hoping she would accept his word at that and not press the issue any further. But it was Jane he was speaking about, he might as well have hoped for the sea to burn.

"Are you sure? I mean, he is not the most honest person in the kingdom. He might have been involved without you knowing."

Breech family issues remained firmly within the family, and Jane just had to be that prying outsider searching for things and opening boxes that were meant to remain shut. Knowing her, she would not be satisfied with anything short of the truth. "You cannot tell a single soul,"

"Tell a soul what?"

"My father could not have had anything to do with this, because he had been confined to his bed for four months now. He is dying. That day you helped me on the docks, I was below decks taking inventory because I run his ships now." His voice was so detached and even that even he was surprised. He expected some emotion, perhaps sadness or something more apt for speaking about a dying parent. But Gunther could not even find a whisper of any of those feelings.

She stared at him, eyes wide with pity he did not need. "I am so sorry."

"Well, that makes one of us." He shrugged, "But every time the head of my family dies, our situation in the kingdom gets a bit shaky and I do not want to have to deal with a prolonged struggle to keep our property so I would rather this remained quiet. I have enough to worry about already."

Jane nodded sharply like a child who had just received the strictest of orders, and then said "You know, when things get too hard I am always here. I know he is your only family and-"

"Stop it, Jane." His voice was so harsh it caught even him off gaurd. He let his shoulders slump; he had not realised when he became so tense. "We have a crown to find. One problem at a time." He said more softly, in an effort to ease the sudden tension he had wedged between them.

She placed a hand gently on his shoulder, "we should be looking for the man from yesterday, every minute we spend standing here is time he could use to run away."

He wanted so badly to reach out and hug her. To hold her close to him and just enjoy, for a few moments, that she had ridden a dragon into the middle of the village for him. But he stopped himself. He had never in his life needed anyone, and he was not about to start letting himself do so.

She lowered her hand from his shoulder and grabbed his hand the way she used to whenever he would walk away before she was done speaking. His mind wandered to yesterday's ball. It seemed so much farther away than one day.

"You remember where he lives, right?" Jane asked as she practically dragged him through the village streets. Gunther nodded, before realizing that she could not see him because her eyes were fixed straight ahead, and he spoke up.

"We are going to clear your name and before you know it you will be back to cleaning the stables with me. I hope you are looking forward to that." She looked at him over her shoulder and smiled. And just like that, he planted his feet firmly to the ground, stopping Jane in her tracked. He pulled her towards him and wrapped his arms around her. He had tried so hard, but he had failed; in the end the desires to just hold her, to feel her pressed against him was more than his sense of self-sufficiency. It was as though she was put on earth to frustrate him.

"Gunther, what are you doing?" She whispered into his ear. The feeling of her breath against his ear reached him in places he did not even know existed, "We are in the middle of the village. My parents are going to find out I hugged a random man in the middle of the village and they are going to kill me, after sir Theodore kills me for riding dragon to your home."

Gunther slowly and reluctantly let go of her. He wanted to thank her, to tell her that her just being there for him meant much more than she could ever imagine. But he couldn't, so instead he gave her his favourite mask of a smirk, reached for her hand and said as he laced his fingers with hers and said, in a mockingly chivalrous tone, "My dear Jane, we have been walking around hand in hand, I am pretty sure the villagers had long since already come to their own conclusions."

She pulled her hand out of his, desperately praying he could not see the blood rushing to her face, "You dung beetle. Is this how someone at risk of losing his knighthood acts?" She was flustered, and it showed. What flustered her was not Gunther teasing her; she was used to that. She was more bothered by how much she had fought herself to remind him that they were in public, and how disappointed she had been that he let go. But worst of all, she was bothered because somewhere in the past few weeks she had fallen for Gunther whilst he still though it was just a game. "Let's hurry." She said as she practically stormed off.

Surprisingly William was at home. Gunther had expected him to have already run off somewhere but the idiot was still in his home. The moment Gunther saw him, he felt a rage like no other wash over his body. It took every ounce of self-control to keep himself for lunging at him. "What did I say I would do to you if you lied to me?" Gunther asked. William moved to shut the door but Gunther pushed his way in. Whatever self-pity he had been wallowing in had left, whatever forced playfulness that tried to mask his fear also disappeared, and in its placed stood a boiling rage. "The prince's crown, where is it?" He demanded in a tone that made William cower.

"I don't know. I didn't take anything. I swear." It was like that night in the castle all over again; a voice like something in the darkness waiting for him to make the mistake of stumbling in its line of sight. He looked at Jane with pleading eyes but she shook her head,

"Do not look to me for pity." She said, the ice in her words was enough to kill any hope William had.

Gunther grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and stared at him with eyes like winter, "I am not a nice person, nor am I a patient person."

"Ok, there is this trader. If someone stole something like a crown, he is the only one who would take it off their hands. He is a day and a half's ride from here, a day if you hurry. I can take you there if you want. But I swear I know nothing about a missing crown."

Gunther looked at Jane, "you don't have to come."

"I am already in trouble." She said to Gunther, she then turned her attention to the cowering thief. It was strange to this that this was the same man who had so boldly professed his love for her in the middle of the forest. Perhaps Gunther was more intimidating than she gave him credit for; to her angry Gunther just came across as moody. "If I were you I would pray to whichever gods you serve that we find the crown. If not, well Gunther and I are already in trouble; we have nothing to lose."

King Caradoc leaned back in his chair and stared quietly at his house banner that hung on the wall across the room. "Tell me Theodore, was I wrong in suspending Gunther from his services?"

Sir Theodore shifted his weight uncomfortably. Of course the King was wrong; there were many times when Theodore wondered where Cuthbert got his poor judgement from, but at rare times like this, when the king made the most obvious of blunders, he saw a bit of Cuthbert in the King.

"Gunther wants to be a knight, to serve you. He trusts you to treat him as a valued knight, not a tool." Sir Theodore said. He was not sure why he bothered; he had already made his views known well before the King had chosen to suspend Gunther, but the King had refused to listen. Thank goodness Caradoc made such mistakes only rarely, and they were becoming fewer and fewer as he aged. There was a knock on the King's office door, a slow almost drawn out knock that caused Ivon, Theodore and Caradoc to stop speaking.

The door opened slowly and a sullen looking Caradoc shuffled into the room with his hands firmly behind him, Lavinia followed closely, her arms crossed triumphantly in front of her.

"We found Cuthbert's crown." She announced, pleased with herself.

"Shut-up." Cuthbert spat. He was growing up from that awful child he was, but not quite fast enough.

"Really? Do you think Gunther would swear his sword to you now?" Lavinia shot back. Over the years Cuthbert had somehow gotten it into his mind that Jane and Gunther would be his personal guard when he took the throne, and he would be the only king watched over by a dragon. He had also completely bought into Gunther's show of self-confidence and pride. In his mind Gunther, not him, carried himself like a prince and although he would never admit it, the whole castle still knew he fashioned the very way he walked after Gunther.

"Shouldn't you have been married off by now? Why are you still in my castle?" Cuthbert said, his voice thick with irritation. Lavinia simply stuck out her tongue at him,

"I thought I was the princess, but apparently you are the one who would do anything for attention."

"Enough. Both of you." Caradoc cut him. His children fought like cat and dog. He thought it would get better with age, but there seemed to be no hope in sight, "What is going on?"

"Cuthbert pretended his crown was stolen so he would get a new one." Lavinia said so quickly her words ran together.

"I swear when I am king, I will marry you off to someone at the other end of the continent." Cuthbert snapped, his eyes narrowed darkly at his sister who could not be bothered with his threats.

"You did what?" Caradoc rose from his seat quickly, "A just suspended a very fine squire."

"I am sorry. I didn't know this would happen. But I am telling the truth now, so it's not so bad. It has not even been a day." Cuthbert said, his voice simultaneously shaky and defensive, "I keep telling you that crown is ugly, but you won't listen to me."

The king turned his attention to Ivon and Theodore, "Find Gunther, bring him to the castle now. It is already late in the day, but if we hurry we can right all this before nightfall."

"It is 'so bad'. You are going to be a king." Lavinia said to Cuthbert, "A liar can never make a good king."

"I thought I asked you to shut up? No one wants to hear from a miniature woman." Cuthbert said he was growing angrier with her by the second, but the stern tone in which is father mentioned his name caused that anger to instantly change into fear.

"Your sister is right. _If_ you are going to be king someday, you have to start learning the difference between right and wrong."

Cuthbert nodded sharply, "I am sorry. I did not mean to cause so much trouble. I didn't think anyone would get blamed."

"Well you have to start thinking at some point."

Caradoc dismissed his children and returned to reading the harvest reports. He used to hate this part of his duties, but over the years the paperwork became almost meditative. He was slowly regaining a sense of peace and wellbeing; Gunther was no longer unfairly punished and in a few hours the castle would be able to go on as though nothing had happened. And perhaps Cuthbert had learnt one more lesson, if only a small one. But Caradoc's peace was short-lived; a sharp, urgent knock pulled him out of the serenity he found in reading the reports.

"Come in."

The door opened and Sir Theodore walked in, the only way Caradoc could tell that something was not quite right, was in the urgency in Theodore strides, otherwise the old knight looked as composed as ever. "Jane and Gunther are missing."

The king furrowed his brows, "What do you mean 'missing'?"

"I take what I hear in the village with a grain of salt, but word is that the two eloped to pursue their knighthood in another kingdom."

"Just like that? Knights are meant to be loyal." Caradoc asked in disbelief.

"My squires understand that very well, which is why I would take what I hear in the village with a grain of salt," Theodor repeated, how he was able to remain so effortlessly calm, Caradoc could not quite understand, "We will find them and we will understand what happened."


End file.
